Superbug, MRSA, Staphylococcus aureus or simply Staph - whichever term you use, it is shorthand for strains of a common bacterium that are resistant to antibiotics and have become the scourge of hospitals up and down the land.

These clever and determined bacteria are not only testing the National Health Service, but also putting in an appearance in the general election campaign. The government's policy and targets are under fire from some critics, and the Conservative leader, Michael Howard, who lost his mother-in-law to MRSA, has been accused of exaggerating the prevalence of the superbug in election literature.

Examining the story of the superbug in the classroom provides topical content not only for science, but for areas such as history, citizenship and English, too.

What's in the headlines?

Initially, give the students a series of headlines about MRSA, such as these from the Guardian website: "We can't just scrub out this bug", "Doctors demand sealed wards for MRSA cases", "Superbug death toll doubles in four years", "Unclean hands to blame for MRSA", "Hospital cleaners 'too rushed to be thorough'", "Is NHS losing the war against the superbugs?".

Give small groups a few minutes to infer and deduce as much as they can from these headlines. Share their ideas and discuss the implications, the ambiguities and the effects of such headlines. Next, give each group a different news report (ideally the ones matched to the headlines) and challenge them to provide a precis of it, either written or verbal, for the rest of the class. In this way, the class can cover many different angles in a short time.

Historical context

This aspect of medicine has an interesting history. Staphylococcus, or Staph, has long been recognised (the name was coined in the 1880s by the Scottish surgeon Alexander Ogston). It is a family of common bacteria, carried around naturally by many people on the skin or in the throat and nose. It can cause infections in the skin and in any organ of the body.

Sir Alexander Fleming observed how a common mould destroyed the Staphylococcus bacteria, and the discovery of penicillin brought Staph under control in the 1940s. Indeed, by the 1960s the development of antibiotics led some doctors to believe that infectious diseases would soon be a thing of the past.

Ask your students to research the advent and growth of antibiotic use. As well as finding out more about the notable names in this field (such as Fleming, Florey and Chain), encourage them to quiz older relatives about their perceptions of the introduction of antibiotics. What did they think of antibiotics? What were they used for? Were they readily prescribed? An interactive timeline will aid their general research (www.pfizerfunzone.com/funzone/timemachine/tm.html).

Man versus microbe

In the 1990s, bacteria started to become resistant to drugs, and so MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) evolved, which is resistant to antibiotics.

MRSA is a micro-organism that persists in outsmarting the 21st-century science of humans. As some of the headlines reveal, it is often perceived as a war between humans and MRSA, and military imagery abounds with talk of wars, battling and strategies. Such images work on all levels - from the fight of the individual sufferers to the disputes on how best to deal with the problem, to the strategies of international organisations trying to avoid pandemics. It is a useful perspective to exploit with students.

Viewing the animated film Osmosis Jones (2001), in which the white blood cell, Jones, fights off the assault of viruses in the City of Frank, provides a fun and accessible way to look at how the human body resists invaders. Similarly, the Channel 4 series Body Story (available on video) gives an excellent insight into our inner workings.

Good guys and bad guys

Challenge your class to create their own representation of the battle between MRSA and the body/antibiotics. Their work might take the form of a colourful comic strip, in which the good and bad guys battle it out. Just as in the Osmosis Jones film, they can have fun naming the characters and places where the action takes place.

Alternatively, they might write a short story or diary, giving an account of what actually happens between the MRSA bug and antibiotics. Students will need to take a detailed look at the science: what the bacteria look like, the effects of the bacteria, how and where they strike, how the body's defence system and antibiotics react, mutations, etc.

This lesson is written for KS3 (age 11-14) but can be adapted for other ages.

Key stage 2 (age 7-11)

The same breathtaking drama created by pictures from the Hubble space telescope can be found in images at the other end of the size spectrum. Looking at images of Staphylococcus aureus reveals an almost magical world that is usually hidden from us (Microbe World has an excellent gallery: www.microbeworld.org/htm/aboutmicro/gallery/gallery_start.htm).

Using a projector or colour copies, show some images of different microbes and ask the children to guess what they are. Calling them micro-organisms may tell them that "very small" is a clue.

Discuss their ideas and then reveal what they are. Introduce and investigate the proper names - these often reveal rather humble roots. Staphylococcus (the bacteria behind MRSA) comes from the Greek staphyle, meaning "bunch of grapes", and the Latin coccus, "spherical bacterium". The species referred to in MRSA is aureus (golden), so this type appears as round, golden clusters. An etymological dictionary (www.etymonline.com/index.php) is invaluable.

Explain that microbes can be both beneficial (compost and penicillin) and damaging (tooth decay and upset stomachs). There is a campaign for washing hands in hospitals (www.npsa.nhs.uk/cleanyourhands); discuss how the children, too, can fight "bad" microbes. Perhaps they could design their own posters on hand-washing.

Key stage 4 (age 14-16)

The main parties have referred to MRSA in their campaigning and the media have been eager to highlight it. Debate the benefits of such attention (more money; better information) and the detrimental aspects (hospital league tables may be damaging; proper solutions may be ignored in favour of popular ideas) with your class.

Tell your students that unless their prospective MP is a doctor or scientist, s/he is unlikely to be well informed on MRSA. The challenge is to create an informative presentation for the new MP.

Allocate different areas to groups of students - describing MRSA and its different strains; the effects on the patient; ways of preventing its spread; MRSA abroad (for example, in the US, where there is concern about community-acquired MRSA). Use the weblinks for information. When you/they are happy with the presentation, invite the MP in. Or send him/her a video/DVD.

Curriculum links

KS2

Citizenship 3a, 3b, 3e, 3g

English (En1) 1a, 3a-d; (En2) 5a; (En3) 2a-e, 4i

Science (Sc2) 5f; QCA unit 6B: micro-organisms

KS3

Citizenship 2a-c

English (En1) 3a-c, 10a; (En2) 1a-d, 4a, 4c, 5a-d; (En3) 1a-d, 1e-h

History 13

PSHE 2b, 2f

Science (Sc1) 1a, 1c; (Sc2) 2n; QCA unit 8C: microbes and disease

History QCA unit 20: 20th-century medicine - how has it changed the lives of people?

KS4

English (En1) 1 a-g, 3a-e; (En2) 1a-e, 4a-c, 5a-d

Science (single award) (Sc1) 1c, 1d; (Sc2) 2l

Science (double award) (Sc1) 1c, 1d; (Sc2) 2p

Scottish curriculum 5-14

Environmental studies Levels C-F

English Levels C-F

Health education Levels C-F

Resources on learnpremium.co.uk

Students can find out more about MRSA and other bacteria on learnpremium.co.uk, the Guardian's subscription-based schools' resources website. Learnnewsdesk, learnpremium's news site for nine- to-14-year-olds, explores the subject in detail through extracts from the Guardian and the Observer in this week's news in focus. All key stages should see the science area for lessons and resources on bacteria. Learn newsdesk is available free to London schools via the London Grid for Learning website on www.LGfl.net